Bundesliga Matchday 33: live blog

3 years ago

Having been held at home by Borussia Mönchengladbach last time out, FC Bayern München can put this season's title race to bed once and for all with victory at Bavarian neighbours FC Ingolstadt 04 on Saturday.

All nine Matchday 33 encounters kick off at the same time on Saturday, so stay tuned on bundesliga.com as we bring you all the build-up and reaction to the 2015/16 campaign's penultimate round of fixtures.

TUNE IN: Find out which matches will be broadcast LIVE on Bundesliga radio

Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Niko Kovac has called on his players to use "every atom of energy out on the pitch" at home to Borussia Dortmund as the Eagles attempt to pull clear of the relegation zone. "We can only match them if we play as a unit," he continued.

19:51 Brooks to return for Hertha

Good news for Hertha Berlin fans ahead of their clash with Darmstadt: centre-back John Anthony Brooks has recovered from injury and is set to return to the side!

There may not be much of the season left, but Bayern duo Holger Badstuber and Arjen Robben are putting in the hard graft to get back in shape - even if it is unlikely that they will be in the squad to face Ingolstadt on Saturday.

19:07 Großkreutz loyal to Stuttgart

VfB Stuttgart's Kevin Großkreutz, a 2014 World Cup winner with Germany, has said that he will stay at the club even if they are relegated at the end of this season. The Swabian side are currently on 33 points. "I'll give everything I've got to get us out of this mess," he posted on Instagram. "If that's not enough, I'd never leave the club like this, but would work to make things right again."

18:52 Pulisic exclusive

Borussia Dortmund youngster Christian Pulisic has had an incredible breakthrough season in the Bundesliga and could also make his mark at this summer's Copa America. Check out our exclusive interview with the 17-year-old below:

"This is the absolute highlight of the season and we are capable of causing even FC Bayern a few problems. We've put a few things right this week and this is a chance for us to show once more what we are capable of. We want to play a game similar to the one in the first half of the season in Munich. Our aim is to remain unbeaten at home [in 2016]."

This will also be Bayern's first trip to Ingolstadt for a Bundesliga fixture - understandably the "highlight" of their maiden season in the top flight.

Stuttgart coach Jürgen Kramny knows his team need an improvement on last weekend, and he is certain he will get it. Here is what he had to say at his pre-match press conference:

"We'reconvinced that we will do it. We know that we all have a duty to this club and we've got to do everything we can for VfB Stuttgart. We are playing at home and there cannot be one other team out there on Saturday who wants this win more than we do. We were the big losers of last weekend and now we want to be the big winners of this one."

Tweet below: 'We're convinced that we will do it'

13:35 Kovac ahead of Dortmund

Niko Kovac realises the size of the challenge his team face against Borussia Dortmund, but they know how much they need the points too. Here are some snippets from the Eagles' coach:

"We're the rank outsiders, we know that. We're going to have to raise our game and be more aggressive. I'm trying not to get involved in all this calculation as to who needs what – you need a mathematician to work all that out. We'll know before our final game of the season what we need to do. The fans are going to get behind us and our players are going to take a few more steps than usual. We're going to have to fight, but that's what I'm used to. Even when we lost games, I didn't lose my composure and now we're getting our reward."

13:10 Roger Schmidt's words

Bayer 04 Leverkusen is looking forward to his side's derby against Gladbach this weekend, since third place already belongs to Die Werkself, meaning they can just go out and enjoy themselves. Here's what else he had to say:

"We're going to try to enjoy our derby against Gladbach. We're going to have to make one change to our team, because Karim Bellarabi is suspended. We're delighted that Julian Brandt is in such amazing shape, like several other players here too."

Pal Dardai has delivered his final press conference ahead of a Hertha Berlin home game this season, and here are some of his thoughts ahead of tomorrow's clash with SV Darmstadt 98:

"The surge of supporters to get tickets for tomorrow's game [over 60,000 expected] shows that the hard work we have done has not gone to waste. I want to thank them all for this. We're going to be ready, all the lads are fit and we want to win on Saturday. In terms of what it would mean for next season's preparations, we don't want to finish seventh, but fifth or sixth would be very good positions to finish in. We're desperate to win on Saturday so we can bring a great season to a nice conclusion and celebrate with our fans, then next year we can build on the great experiences from this season."

12:38 Guardiola press conference

Bayern coach Pep Guardiola is now up on the podium down in Munich. He has had the following to say:

"It's not easy [after being knocked out of the Champions League] but we've got to focus on Ingolstadt now. We need a win to be Bundesliga champions, and we want that title as quickly as possible. When you are at Bayern, the pressure is on in every game you play, but I love being in this situation. Of course we had big objectives and if you say that I had to win the Champions League, then I have failed, but I have really enjoyed my time in Munich and am very satisfied. I have done my best here. Ingolstadt have beaten Schalke and Gladbach already this season – they've had an incredible season and they've got some great players."

Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel has been talking to the gathered media for his pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Eintracht Frankfurt tomorrow.

Here are a few snippets of the key things he had to say:

"It's going to be a very emotional fixture against a very emotional Eintracht. For us, it's not even an issue whether now is a good or a bad time to play against Eintracht. We are still very hungry and keen to perform – we're not going to be shirking any tackles. It's frustrating for us that we've not being playing midweek matches lately."

Hoffenheim's coach has confirmed he has a fully fit squad to choose from for the trip to Hannover apart from defender Tobias Strobl, who is suspended.

11:12 - Battle at the bottom

Hannover 96's relegation was confirmed a fortnight ago, but who will be joining the Reds in Bundesliga 2 next season? Just four points separate 12-placed FC Augsburg from VfB Stuttgart in 17th going into Matchday 33. Whatever happens, the fight for survival is set to go right down to the wire.

No Bundesliga action today, I hear you cry? Don't worry, there's plenty to look forward to today: Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel will be facing the media at 12:00CEST on the dot (hopefully), while Niko Kovac, Jürgen Kramny and Andre Schubert's pre-match pressers are also taking place today. There's plenty at stake for every single one of them this weekend, as our Matchday 33 guide explains...

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